The Blue & White

by Kaylie Lam


On Friday, April 11th, and Saturday, April 12th, Stage Door 22 held their annual Spring Musical. This year’s Spring Musical, named No Show!?, was a musical mashup of fan favorite Broadway musicals, including Mean Girls, Newsies, Wicked, Legally Blonde and The Greatest Showman, and was written personally by theater director Joan Walsh, otherwise known as Mrs. Walsh.

This musical was written to show each part of theater, from the actors to the set crew, and showed how each group of theater comes together to perform, personalizing the musical for many. Along with this, Mrs. Walsh personalized each character of No Show!? to the personality of the actor playing the character, adding to the personal feeling of this musical.

The story behind the creation of No Show!? is a chaotic one. As explained by stage manager Sophia Polit, “So it all started in the first few months of this year. We were supposed to do a show called, ‘Peter and the Starcatcher,’ which is basically an off-brand Peter Pan. But Walsh was unable to direct, and so, we needed to hire a different director.” Sophia went on, “Originally we had someone (director), but the school took too long to process her, as she had applied in October, and so, she ended up getting a different job.” This meant that there would be no director for the musical, and therefore no musical. “Walsh stepped up and said that she would direct- but nothing on too large of a scale,” said Polit.

“We couldn’t really do anything big, extravagant, musical production with a big set, crazy lighting, or detailed costumes because we were running out of time,” Polit explained. However, Stage Door 22 didn’t let this stop them.

According to Polit, “Walsh took her own hand at it and wrote her own production. She warned us ahead of time that it would be a work in progress, calling it a ‘workshopped production,’ which basically is where we work on the scenes as we come along.” Stage Door 22 worked tirelessly to put together a show of improvisation and music culture, which came together to create No Show!?

Despite the challenges Stage Door 22 faced in putting on a musical in such a short time, the group was able to pull off an extraordinary performance! “These actors and crew members would work hours on end from the start to the end of the week, including weekends,” Polit said. Using their wits, the group worked together to put No Show!? together and captured the essence of the strong bond of Stage Door 22.

Polit noted the struggles of putting a show together so quickly, saying that, “Teaching proper etiquette of theater during this time was unachievable with everything else we had going on.” Combining the skills of veteran members and newcomers was not an easy feat, but Stage Door 22 were able to come together, pulling off a musical in half the time they originally would have. They ultimately delivered an amazing performance, which left many smiling after the performances of No Show!?